


but maybe if you catch me

by blackbirdxfly



Category: GOT7
Genre: Domestic, Getting Together, Jealousy, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Oblivious Jinyoung, Pining, slight angst, soft yugyeom, yugyeom and jinyoung are the last ones left in the dorm, yugyeom doesn't want to move out
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-10
Updated: 2019-07-10
Packaged: 2020-06-26 01:57:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19758250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blackbirdxfly/pseuds/blackbirdxfly
Summary: He hates it. Hates that he always winds up in front of Jinyoung’s door. Hates this stupid, needy feeling he gets when he’s alone and knows Jinyoung is nearby.And yet, some masochistic part of him can’t stay away.





	but maybe if you catch me

**Author's Note:**

> I've been overwhelmed by pepigyeom/jingyeom feelings lately and also haven't stopped thinking about the way Yugyeom openly admits to hating sleeping alone, and how Mark rooms with him on tour as a result. This is set around the time that it was just him, Jinyoung and Mark living in the dorms until they moved out one after another.
> 
> Title from ['But Maybe'](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKP9tuUDVbY) by Maddox
> 
> _But maybe if you follow me_   
>  _I'll give you my truth_   
>  _But maybe if you follow me_   
>  _You'll just see right through_   
>    
>  _But maybe if you catch me_   
>  _I'll be waiting for you_   
>  _No need to be afraid_   
>  _Yes, I'll be right there for you_   
> 

When Mark breaks it to Yugyeom and Jinyoung that he’s moving out, Yugyeom panics. 

“Mark hyung, no,” he pleads. “Can’t it wait another week or two? I haven’t even started looking. What if I’m the only one left?”

Mark knows better than anyone that Yugyeom hates being alone, especially at night. It’s why he always offers to room with him when they travel or go on tour. 

Yugyeom had known they would all have to move out sooner or later. Their lease is going to be up soon and the seven of them had all made a promise to find their own places and live more independently from each other. He hates it but understands why it has to be done. His hyungs need their space, and in Jaebeom and BamBam’s cases, their cats needed to be able to roam freely too. It wasn’t ideal that the cats had to be confined to their bedrooms because most of the group was allergic.

But it’s been months since Jaebeom moved out and Yugyeom had managed to fool himself into thinking things would stay the same for a while. Now, he’s left feeling uneasy by the knowledge that there will be only two of them left in the dorm, all of it becoming a bit too real, too quickly. 

“I have to move out in the next couple days, Gyeom-ah,” Mark says apologetically. “Jaebeom’s parents are taking time out of their cafe’s opening hours to help me move.”

Yugyeom sulks, knowing he can’t argue with that. It’s his own fault anyway for putting off finding another apartment.

Mark’s eyes soften and he pulls Yugyeom into a hug. “It’ll be okay,” he soothes. “Jinyoung won’t be moving out for a while, right?” He makes eye contact with Jinyoung meaningfully over Yugyeom’s head.

Jinyoung nods. “I haven’t started looking either, Yugyeom-ah.”

“Why don’t we make sure Jinyoung is the last to go? Then you won’t have to be all alone here.”

“You would do that, hyung?” Yugyeom asks hopefully.

“Yeah, I don’t mind,” Jinyoung replies.

“Okay,” Yugyeom agrees meekly. “Thank you, hyung.”

Jinyoung just rubs circles into Yugyeom’s back comfortingly in response while Mark looks up new drama releases to put on in hopes of distracting Yugyeom for a while.

———

Mark leaves with a promise to invite Yugyeom and Jinyoung to his new place after he’s had some time to settle in. 

Yugyeom had thought it might be awkward at first, living with Jinyoung. He and Jinyoung always got along well one-on-one, whether it was when they were choreographing or when they were working as a unit for a tour. But that was when they had work acting as a buffer for them. While they had their banter and the occasional petty argument, having a common goal of producing quality work as efficiently as possible always ensured an amicable relationship between them. 

His worries are soon quelled, though, when he realises that nothing really changes.

Jinyoung goes about his routine as usual. He wakes up too early for Yugyeom’s liking, hits the gym, comes home for a shower and makes coffee, which is usually when Yugyeom is just getting out of bed. After a day of work, Jinyoung typically heads straight to his room for his mandatory time to himself. If they’re home early enough for a late meal, he emerges again for them to organise dinner, which mostly consists of ordering in or making something simple out of the homemade kimchi and ingredients Jinyoung’s parents make sure to keep their fridge stocked with.

It’s all very normal, but it does mean that Yugyeom starts to feel lonely without any other members around to entertain and keep him company.

On the third day of Yugyeom spending most of his time after work in the living room hoping Jinyoung might come out of his room to hang out, he decides to suck it up and seek Jinyoung out himself. He gets that Jinyoung needs his space more than anyone else he knows, but it feels like he’s seeing even less of Jinyoung than he used to with no one else around to draw him out of his cave.

Yugyeom knocks on Jinyoung’s door. “Hyung?” he calls out, praying that Jinyoung didn’t decide to go to sleep early. He really doesn’t want to face Jinyoung’s wrath tonight.

“Come in!”

Relieved, Yugyeom pokes his head in through the door tentatively. 

“Hey,” Jinyoung says from the floor, voice strained. He’s stretching his back out in some weird pose Yugyeom wouldn’t know because he doesn’t stretch as much as he should. It makes all the muscles in Jinyoung’s arm and upper body bulge.

Yugyeom swallows. He never knows what to do with how he feels in these moments. Objectively, he’s always known Jinyoung is an attractive male. But, recently, he’s realising that knowledge has also started to become subjective, and examining it too closely just makes him panic. 

“Hey,” he says back. “Um, are you busy? I can come back later.”

“No, no, I’m just finishing up. I’ve got one last stretch to do. Wanna join?” Jinyoung offers.

“Uh, no thanks,” Yugyeom laughs. “I’m in enough pain from practice today.”

“Which is why you should stretch,” Jinyoung says in that tone like he’s about to go into a lecture about the health benefits of stretching to a dancer’s body, backed with statistics and other uninteresting facts. 

Yugyeom shrugs. “I sort of just pretend I’m not in pain and it goes away eventually.”

Jinyoung eyes him reproachfully. “One day, Gyeom-ah, you’ll know,” he says darkly, but moves on into his next pose. 

“I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it,” Yugyeom snorts. After a brief pause, he adds, “So, uh. I know it’s kind of late but I was wondering if you wanted to watch a movie with me?”

“Sure,” Jinyoung replies good-naturedly, even as he’s wincing in pain. Yugyeom winces back in sympathy, which makes Jinyoung break out into a smile. “Alright,” he grunts, getting up and brushing his palms off on his sweatpants. “You got a movie in mind?”

Yugyeom shakes his head. “Your pick.”

Jinyoung watches him suspiciously as they move out into the living room but Yugyeom keeps silent, not wanting to admit that he hadn’t decided on a movie because he didn’t want Jinyoung to back out. 

———

“Is everything okay with you and Jinyoung at the dorm?” Mark asks from his hotel bed. 

They’re in Japan for three days to film a music video and do a few interviews. Mark offered to room with Yugyeom again, and Yugyeom was happy to finally spend some downtime with his hyung again after two weeks of only seeing him for work related activities.

“Yeah, things are okay,” Yugyeom answers vaguely from where he’s sitting crosslegged at the end of Mark’s bed. 

He reaches for a pack of chocolate coated matcha biscuits from their snack pile. They always make it a mission to try all the interesting convenient store snacks they can when they’re in different countries. 

“Jinyoungie’s been treating you okay? He hasn’t been bullying you too much, has he?”

“No, not at all,” Yugyeom says, huffing out laugh. “I wouldn’t mind if he did more, actually.”

Mark glances at him and sets his chips aside after a second to beckon Yugyeom over. He shifts to the right, wordlessly offering up half of the mattress.

Yugyeom crawls over and lies next to him.

“What do you mean?” Mark asks once Yugyeom has made himself comfortable.

“I pretty much didn’t even run into him for the first three days you were gone. He just spent most of his time in his room,” Yugyeom recounts. “It’s a bit better now, though. He comes out if I ask.”

Mark hums thoughtfully while sipping on his soda.

“But you’d like to see him more?”

Yugyeom nods. He doesn’t like being made aware of his neediness but he also knows Mark would see through any lie, even one by omission.

“So tell him. You know Jinyoung is always happy to talk to you about anything.”

———

“Hyung?” Yugyeom starts, feeling a little nervous. He and Jinyoung are sitting side by side in front of the TV having breakfast.

They have the morning off so Yugyeom had decided to make them breakfast while Jinyoung was washing up from his trip to the gym. His culinary skills are limited to fried rice and eggs, but at least he knows it’s a foolproof meal. 

He might also be trying to butter Jinyoung up for the request he’s about to make.

“Hm?” Jinyoung tears his eyes away from the screen to glance at him, his cheeks so comically full he looks like a hamster. The sight is so endearing Yugyeom immediately grins at him, forgetting his own trepidation for a moment. He even secretly feels a little proud at the same time, with Jinyoung so obviously enjoying the meal that he made.

“So… You know how I come and find you when I want to do stuff together?”

Jinyoung blinks. “Yeah?”

“It doesn’t bother you, does it?”

Jinyoung’s eyes widen and he quickly swallows his mouthful, chasing it with a gulp of coffee.

“Of course not, Gyeomie. Why would you think that?” He places a warm hand on Yugyeom’s thigh, expression concerned.

“It’s just… I don’t want you intrude on your alone time.”

“Oh, Gyeom-ah.” Jinyoung’s tone is so soft Yugyeom feels a little tender. “I didn’t know I made you think that. Did you think hyung didn’t want to spend time with you?”

“Well,” Yugyeom says with a twist of his mouth, “you never ask first.”

He picks at his rice awkwardly.

“But I never turn you away, right?” Jinyoung points out. “When have I agreed with you just to be polite?”

“Never,” Yugyeom mumbles.  
  
“And it’s not out of pity either,” Jinyoung says firmly. He squeezes Yugyeom’s shoulder and gives him a shake. “I always enjoy my time with you, Yugyeom-ah. You have to know that.”

Warmth blooms in Yugyeom’s chest at hearing Jinyoung’s words and he bites his lip to stop himself from smiling too wide. 

“Okay,” he says, pleased. He tilts his head until his temple meets Jinyoung shoulder.

“And I’m going to make more of an effort with you too, okay?”

“It’s all good, hyung,” Yugyeom says, satisfied.

Jinyoung’s hand comes up to pat his hair but the moment Yugyeom relaxes into it, there’s suddenly smack to the back of his head.

Yugyeom jumps, glaring at Jinyoung as he rubs at the spot. 

“Now hurry up and finish your food, brat,” Jinyoung says, pointing at him menacingly with his chopsticks. “We can’t afford to be late.”

Yugyeom does, begrudgingly, but not before threatening to spit in Jinyoung’s food the next time he cooks for them. 

———

Jinyoung makes good on his promise and starts to take more initiative in finding Yugyeom before he gets restless enough to seek Jinyoung out himself. Yugyeom’s pretty happy.

Sometimes they play card games or FaceTime each others’ families but more often than not, they end up unwinding by watching something, reading their respective books and webcomics, or just lying around while scrolling through their phones mindlessly. 

They still bicker and play fight on the daily, of course, but Yugyeom’s discovered a comfortable kind of silence that he didn’t know he could have with Jinyoung. He likes it and finds himself looking forward to his evenings alone with his hyung. 

———

“Move.”

Yugyeom squawks as he’s shoved out of his comfy corner on the couch where the cushioning is optimal for curling up into a ball with his phone. There’s plenty of room now that it’s just him and Jinyoung in the dorm so he doesn’t know why he should even have to move. 

More importantly, he was here first.

“I was here _first_ ,” he tells Jinyoung indignantly.

“So?” is all Jinyoung says before flipping his book open without even looking at him. 

After a minute, though, he lifts his arm and rests it over the back of the couch, so Yugyeom takes it as a peace offering and lays his head in Jinyoung’s lap.

After _another_ minute, when Yugyeom has gone back to looking up memes on his phone, he feels fingers start to comb through his hair. Every once in a while, Jinyoung has to stop to turn a page, but Yugyeom is so relaxed he doesn’t mind; Jinyoung’s fingers always end up back in his hair. 

Yugyeom just sighs and snuggles closer, discarding his phone so he can twist around to bury his face in Jinyoung’s fleece sweater. It smells like the fabric softener they both use, like home, and Yugyeom starts to feel drowsy in no time. 

Later, when he wakes up, the living room is lit just bright enough that he can see his surroundings. There’s a fleece blanket covering his legs and when he sits up, he realises he had been sleeping on Jinyoung’s sweater which had been folded up into a makeshift pillow.

Yugyeom knows he shouldn’t, but after a very short moment of deliberation, he takes the sweater back with him to his room and tells himself it’s not because he was disappointed to wake up alone.

———

So maybe Yugyeom is enjoying his quiet evenings in with Jinyoung.  But he also wishes they didn’t have to end.

———

When Yugyeom’s brother sends him a board game that they used to play together as kids, Yugyeom is eager to show Jinyoung. He clutches the game in his hand and knocks on Jinyoung’s door, and in his excitement, he barges into the room before Jinyoung can answer. 

“Hyung! I—” 

He pauses in his tracks.

Jinyoung is doing up the last two buttons of a navy button down shirt and when Yugyeom lets his eyes trail downwards, he notices that Jinyoung’s also got a nice pair of dark slacks on. He looks unfairly good.

“Are… Are you headed somewhere, hyung?”

“Oh, yeah, I guess I didn’t get a chance to tell you,” Jinyoung says. “I only just found out my friend from home is visiting Seoul and she asked if we could catch up.”

“Oh. Where are you going?” Yugyeom asks, curious but trying not to pry. He’s also trying not to stare at the way Jinyoung’s shirt hugs his upper body just enough to hint at the definition in his chest and shoulders. 

“I said I’d take her to that nice bar nearby,” Jinyoung explains. “You know the one Jaebeom hyung took us to for Jackson’s birthday that one year?”

Yugyeom does remember. He also remembers that Jaebeom had chosen that bar specifically for its intimate setting. The place was also so dimly lit they didn’t have to worry much about being recognised, and even if they were, the crowd wasn’t the type to approach them. It made them feel relaxed enough to talk and joke freely with each other.

Yugyeom pictures Jinyoung with a faceless (but probably attractive) woman at that bar, sitting opposite each other, heads leaning in to talk as they sip on their drinks. His stomach sinks and he immediately feels foolish for it. 

What did he even expect? That Jinyoung would want to stay home to play childish games with him? He’s probably been feeling like a glorified babysitter for weeks now. And why did Yugyeom think he was allowed to monopolise Jinyoung’s time anyway?

So, despite his nosy nature, he doesn’t ask if it’s a date. Not just because it’s not really any of his business, but because he doesn’t want to have to hear that it is.  


When Yugyeom takes too long to answer, Jinyoung asks, “Was there something you wanted to do tonight, Gyeomie?”

“Ah, it’s nothing,” he mutters. 

Yugyeom sees Jinyoung eyeing the area around his thighs pointedly so he looks down. Oh. Belatedly, he realises he’s hidden the board game behind his legs.

“It’s nothing, it can wait,” Yugyeom brushes him off again. “Go out and some have fun, hyung,” he says, trying to sound as positive as he normally does.

“Thanks, Yugyeomie,” Jinyoung says, grinning. “I guess it’s kind of weird that I’m the one going out while you’re staying in, right?” He spritzes on some cologne and grabs his phone and wallet, clearly ready to leave.

“Just don’t get too trashed,” Yugyeom tries to joke. “I’m not getting out of bed in the middle of the night for your drunk ass.”

Jinyoung just rolls his eyes as he puts his shoes on. 

“Yeah, because out of the two of us _I’m_ the one dumb enough to get trashed.”

———

Yugyeom has been lying in bed tossing and turning listlessly for two and a half hours when he hears the front door being unlocked. He wasn’t waiting up for Jinyoung, but he’d be lying if he said Jinyoung wasn’t the one occupying his mind.

According to his phone it’s 2am. He frowns. How long did Jinyoung spend with his friend? Did they go anywhere after the bar? Did they _do_ anything afterwards?

Twenty minutes after he’s heard Jinyoung close his bedroom door, he gets out of bed and heads for the direction of Jinyoung’s room. He tells himself he’s just checking on his hyung, making sure he managed to get back in one piece.

Still, he hates it. Hates that he always winds up in front of Jinyoung’s door. Hates this stupid, needy feeling he gets when he’s alone and knows Jinyoung is nearby. And yet, some masochistic part of him can’t stay away.

“Hyung?” He says, knocking at Jinyoung’s door as he’s done so many times in the past few weeks. He pushes the door open cautiously to find Jinyoung already in bed, sitting up to squint at Yugyeom.

“Yugyeom? It’s late, are you okay?”

“I just wanted to check that _you_ are,” Yugyeom tells him.

“Of course I am,” Jinyoung scoffs as Yugyeom approaches him. “You didn’t really think I would get trashed, did you?”

Biting his bottom lip, Yugyeom admits, painfully honest, “I didn’t know what to think.”

Jinyoung does a double take, then stares at him for a good moment. He lifts up a corner of his blanket, inviting Yugyeom in. Before he can take it back, Yugyeom joins him. Jinyoung pats the blanket down, making sure it’s evenly distributed between them, and then turns to face him.

“What’s wrong, Yugyeom-ah? You don’t seem like yourself.”

Yugyeom can count on one hand the number of times they’ve shared a bed like this over the years. But it’s mostly been for rooming purposes. It’s different for him now that he has all these… _feelings._

Instead of answering, Yugyeom asks, “Did you have a good time at the bar?”

“Yeah, I did,” Jinyoung says, smiling fondly. “My friend, she’s really hilarious. I don’t think I’ve laughed like I did tonight in a while.”

Something ugly twists in Yugyeom’s chest and he can’t help but feel inadequate. Yugyeom hadn’t wanted to admit it before, but he’s jealous in a way he didn’t think he could be. He knows that one thing Jinyoung has always found attractive in others is a good sense of humour. Jinyoung claims it’s because he isn’t very funny or interesting himself, but Yugyeom thinks most people just don’t understand his jokes and antics.

Now, thinking of the way Jinyoung laughs a lot around him, he wonders if perhaps Jinyoung has been laughing _at_ him and not _with_ him all along.

“That’s nice,” Yugyeom says dumbly at Jinyoung’s ceiling. “You…like her then?”

Suddenly, his field of vision is replaced by Jinyoung’s face as he hovers over Yugyeom to frown down at him.

“Where’s this coming from?”

“Nowhere.” Yugyeom looks away. “Just making conversation.”

Jinyoung narrows his eyes at him. “Don’t bullshit me, Yugyeom,” he says lowly. “Since when do you lie to me?”

Under different circumstances Yugyeom might be lured in by the danger in his tone, drawn to it like a moth to a flame, but now he just wants to flee from his own mistake of saying too much; of his own stupid decision to come to Jinyoung at all because he couldn’t keep shit together.

Maybe he’s addicted to Jinyoung. Isn’t this how addicts realise they have a problem? Knowing that they’re making a bad decision yet again but going with it anyway because just a taste isn’t enough?

Seeming to sense his inner turmoil, Jinyoung retreats back to his side of the mattress. Yugyeom lets out a breath of relief until he feels Jinyoung pull him into a hug. “Talk to me, Gyeom-ah,” Jinyoung pleads almost desperately. “You’re breaking my heart here. I never see you like this.”

Yugyeom clenches his eyes shut. It’s too much. 

It’s easy to joke around with Jinyoung, to accept his affection that comes in the form of light punches and shoves, to acknowledge that he has a soft-hearted side to him without having to be on the receiving end of it. But like this, enveloped by Jinyoung’s arms and his tenderness, Yugyeom has no room to hide from the way he wants to shove his face into Jinyoung’s skin and be held for as long as Jinyoung will have him.

“Promise you won’t make fun of me?” Yugyeom mumbles.

“Why on earth would I make fun of you?” 

“Why _wouldn’t_ you?"  Yugyeom shoots back tiredly. " You do it literally every day, hyung.”

Jinyoung just smirks smugly.

Yugyeom rolls his eyes, but the fact that they can still squabble in a moment like this takes some of the edge off. Maybe he won’t be ruining everything by being honest after all, even if Jinyoung doesn’t reciprocate his feelings. He just hopes that Jinyoung doesn’t pity him. It would only make him feel even sorrier for himself.

“I just missed you tonight,” Yugyeom finally confesses, unable to look Jinyoung in the eye. He buries a hand in the blanket and squeezes, trying to ground himself. “I think… I think I miss you all the time when I’m not with you.”

It all comes out in a whisper, but he knows Jinyoung has heard him by the way he inhales sharply. 

“Were you—Were you jealous?” Jinyoung asks carefully.

Yugyeom wants to lie. It feels like he’s already exposed too much. But he’s come this far and hiding anything from Jinyoung doesn’t seem to work out very well for him anyway.

So he gives a tiny nod. 

“Yugyeom,” Jinyoung breathes, sounding dumbfounded.

Just as Yugyeom is steeling himself to be mocked, he feels Jinyoung’s arms tighten around him until he almost can’t breathe. Jesus, Jinyoung has really been putting his hours in at the gym.

“What—” Yugyeom squeaks.

“Look at me, Yugyeom-ah,” Jinyoung says. “Please.”

Slowly, Yugyeom turns to lie on his side and faces Jinyoung, because as much as he doesn’t want to, he also could never refuse.

It feels like all the air has been sucked out of hislungs as he’s struck by the expression on Jinyoung’s face, filled with open wonderment and curiosity. His heart races.

Jinyoung’s hand comes up to brush Yugyeom’s shaggy hair away from his forehead, making his eyes flutter. He can’t help that he loves being taken care of, even when it’s by the person he’s fearing most in the moment. Especially by him. 

“I wish you had told me earlier,” Jinyoung murmurs.

“Why?” Yugyeom asks, holding his breath. Would it have made a difference? He tries not to get hopeful. 

“I’ve been…not avoiding you, but—” Jinyoung’s brows furrow as he tries to find the right words. “I guess I’ve been holding back. I like you, Yugyeom-ah, and I didn’t want to take advantage of the fact that you don’t like spending time alone.”

“What?” Yugyeom breathes. “You—”

“I like you, Gyeom-ah,” Jinyoung repeats seriously. “So much.”

Yugyeom can only stare back, wide-eyed with shock, as he tries to comprehend Jinyoung’s words until, suddenly, everything he’s been feeling boils over and he starts to tear up from immense relief. 

“Hyung, I was so scared,” he says shakily. It almost comes out as a whimper. “I was so scared that you wouldn’t like me back and we wouldn’t spend time together again. Or—or, or that you’d suddenly be all _nice_ to me!”

Jinyoung laughs, his thumb wiping at the corner of Yugyeom’s eye. “You don’t want me to be nice to you, Gyeomie?”

“No! I just want you to continue being the same with me. But with like, kissing sometimes.”

“Kissing, huh? _Just_ kissing?” Jinyoung smirks, leaning in with a mischievous glint in his eye.

To his horror, Yugyeom feels his cheeks heat up. He can already feel himself blushing down his neck. And at just the mention of a bit of kissing, too. Ugh.

He pouts and sniffs, aware that he’s being teased. 

“Ah, Yugyeomie,” Jinyoung cracks up. “You make it so easy sometimes.”

“I’ll show you easy,” Yugyeom grumbles, and jabs one pointy elbow into Jinyoung’s ribs. He’s been told that his elbows are sharp enough to make for a good weapon.

Jinyoung just laughs his ridiculous laugh even harder, not even really bothering to defend himself from Yugyeom’s attack.

Yugyeom should be annoyed, but he can’t find it in himself to be.

“Maybe it’s too soon to be thinking about being _easy_ , hm?” Jinyoung says after he calms down a little.

It takes Yugyeom a second to place Jinyoung’s insinuation but when he does— 

“Hyung!” Yugyeom whines, flustered all over again. He smacks Jinyoung’s chest. His brain is still trying to process Jinyoung’s confession. Thinking about anything beyond that is too much right now.

“I’m just saying,” Jinyoung says, squeezing Yugyeom in his arms gently, “let’s take this slow, okay?”

“Okay, hyung,” Yugyeom agrees easily. He’s never been in a relationship, hasn’t had much experience at all in the area of dating, but he trusts Jinyoung.

“So,” Jinyoung starts casually, staring at Yugyeom’s lips, “about that kissing…”

In lieu of answering, Yugyeom leans in close enough that he can feel Jinyoung breathing against his lips. Jinyoung cups the side of Yugyeom’s face with his hand, one finger stroking the shell of his ear. 

“Please kiss me, hyung,” Yugyeom whispers, because as unnerved as Jinyoung makes him, he also makes Yugyeom feel like he can be brave.

When their lips finally meet, some of that same relief from before washes over him. Not so intensely that it makes him want to cry again, but enough that he knows he can trust Jinyoung to be cautious with his delicate heart.

They kiss languidly for a while and it’s so different from what Yugyeom had imagined kissing Jinyoung to be like—at least, when he dared to imagine. He had thought that it would be more frenzied, a fight for dominance—and perhaps that would come later—but now, all he feels is a sense of contentment from the way Jinyoung kisses him like he’s something to be treasured and protected. 

———

“You know you still haven’t actually said that you like me,” Jinyoung points out later, as they’re finally settling down to sleep. 

Jinyoung has agreed to let Yugyeom stay in his bed for the night, no funny business allowed from either of them. And, worn out from the emotional rollercoaster that the evening has been, it suits Yugyeom just fine.

“Stop fishing, asshole,” Yugyeom grouches. “You’re insufferable.”

“Come on, Gyeomie. You wouldn't want to leave hyung hanging, would you?” Jinyoung prods playfully, fingers dancing ticklishly along his ribcage.

“Go away,” Yugyeom retorts, but he’s already pulling Jinyoung in closer at the same time to lay his head on his chest. “You know I like you.”

“I know,” Jinyoung says happily. “I just wanted to hear you say it.” Yugyeom feels him pressing a kiss to the top of head. “Goodnight, punk.”

———

Yugyeom’s last thought before he drifts off to sleep is that maybe moving out won’t be so bad anymore. Not if he’ll get to have Jinyoung even when they’re apart. 


End file.
